130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Cork oak Q. suber of anthropogenic origin [8] . The
species nests in trees, usually Cork oak and Stone
pine Pinus pinea, and occasionally on electricity
pylons [1, 9] . European rabbits (Oryctolagus
cuniculus) account for 50–70% of Spanish imperial
eagle diet [5] , complemented by pigeon, reptiles,
carrion of wild ungulates and water birds [10] .
Territory size is c. 2,800 ha during the breeding
season and c. 10,500 ha in the non-breeding season
and varies depending on prey density and human
presence [1, 11] . Mean breeding density is 1.93 pairs per
100 km 2 [12] .
No. of breeding pairs
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1950
1956
1962
1968
1974
1980
1986
1992
1998
2004
2010
Legal protection and conservation status
The Spanish imperial eagle is listed on Appendix I
of CITES, Annex I of the EU Birds Directive, Annex
II of the Bern Convention, and Annex I and II of the
Convention on Migratory Species [13] . The species
receives full legal protection in Spain and Portugal,
with national and regional legislation in place [1] .
of stability from mid to late 1990s and a sharp
increase since 2000 [18] (Figure 1).
In 2002, the first confirmed breeding in
Portugal was recorded and the current population
size is estimated at 2–5 breeding pairs [1, 19] . The
species has always occurred in small numbers in
Portugal, and patterns of sporadic occupation have
been recorded over time [20] .
Figure 1.
Number of Spanish
imperial eagle
breeding pairs in
Spain since 1950.
Abundance:
current status and changes
The Spanish imperial eagle was close to extinction
in 1960 [5] and the subsequent population change
shows recovery from a severely depleted state.
The number of Spanish imperial eagle breeding
pairs in Spain, which holds nearly the entire
global population of the species, increased from
38 in 1974 to 317 in 2012 [17] . Population size had an
upward trend from the 1970s, followed by a period
Distribution:
current status and changes
In past centuries, the Spanish imperial eagle
experienced a dramatic reduction in its range.
Between 1850 and 1974, the species lost nearly
90% of its range in Iberia, retracting to the central
and southern parts of its distribution (Figure 2).
By 2012, the species occupied less than 20% of its
1850 range, mainly in mountainous forest areas
Figure 2.
Current distribution
of Spanish imperial
eagle in Europe and
historical distribution
in 1850 [6, 18] and
1974 [21] .
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